SANDUSKY, Ohio — Sandusky-based Cedar Fair Entertainment, the owner of Cedar Point and several other amusement parks in North America, has announced that it has struck a deal to merge with Six Flags.
The merger agreement was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors for both companies.
“Our merger with Six Flags will bring together two of North America’s iconic amusement park companies to establish a highly diversified footprint and a more robust operating model to enhance park offerings and performance,” said Richard Zimmerman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cedar Fair. “Together, we will have an expanded and complementary portfolio of attractive assets and intellectual property to deliver engaging entertainment experiences for guests. The combination also creates an enhanced financial profile with strong cash flow generation to accelerate investments in our parks to delight our guests, driving increased levels of demand and in-park value and spending. I have great respect for the Six Flags team and look forward to joining forces as we embark on this next chapter together.”
Additionally, the combined company will reportedly retain Six Flags as its corporate name and trade under Cedar Fair’s ticker, FUN.
The combined company will be valued at roughly $8 billion, based on Cedar Fair and Six Flags' debt and equity values as of Oct. 31. Six Flags shareholders will receive 0.58 shares of common stock in the new company, while Cedar Fair unit holders will receive one share for each unit they own.
Shares of both Cedar Fair and Six Flags rose Wednesday afternoon after Reuters and The Wall Street Journal first reported the possible merger. Cedar Fair has a market value of $1.8 billion, while Six Flags is at $1.7 billion, per Reuters.
As a result of the merger, the new combined company will boast 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It will also have entertainment partnerships and a portfolio of intellectual property including Looney Tunes, DC Comics and Peanuts.
“The combination of Six Flags and Cedar Fair will redefine our guests’ amusement park experience as we combine the best of both companies,” added Selim Bassoul, President and Chief Executive Officer of Six Flags. “Six Flags and Cedar Fair share a strong cultural alignment, operating philosophy, and steadfast commitment to providing consumers with thrilling experiences. By combining our operational models and technology platforms, we expect to accelerate our transformation activities and unlock new potential for our parks. We are excited to unite the Cedar Fair and Six Flags teams to capitalize on the tremendous growth opportunities and operational efficiencies of our combined platform for the benefit of our guests, shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders.”
The company's newly formed board will include six directors from Cedar Fair and six directors from Six Flags. The company will be headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and will keep significant finance and administrative operations in Sandusky.
Sandusky City Manager John Orzech provided the below statement about the merger to 3News:
"Cedar Point is one of the top amusement parks in the United States, and they have called Sandusky home for over 150 years. We look forward to continuing our great partnership with Cedar Point to further position Sandusky as a premier destination in the Great Lakes region. Additionally, the City has been assured that the current Cedar Fair administrative and finance operations in Sandusky will remain here after the merger with Six Flags is complete. We expect that Cedar Point will remain one of the flagship parks in the new company and we will continue to ensure that Cedar Point’s presence here not only makes Sandusky a great place to visit, but also a great place to live."
In 2019, Cedar Fair turned down a $4 billion merger offer from Six Flags. Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reported then that Cedar Fair rejected the cash-and-stock offer because the “bid was too low.”
Six Flags has a history in Ohio after purchasing Geauga Lake in Aurora and expanding the property into a newly branded theme park known as Worlds of Adventure. Cedar Fair later purchased the property from Six Flags and returned its name to Geauga Lake before closing it forever in 2007.
Last year, Cedar Fair rejected a takeover offer from Sea World, worth a reported $3.4 billion. Had the deal gone through, SeaWorld Entertainment would have moved ahead of Six Flags to become the fifth-largest theme park company in the world.
The Associated Press and 3News' Ryan Haidet and Tyler Carey contributed to this report